LOS ANGELES: Robbie Williams has spoken of his addiction to prescription drugs, revealing he feared he would die if he did not check into rehab in 2007.

The Bodies singer checked into rehab on his 33rd birthday in February 2007 after realising he was ‘physically and mentally ill’ from years of taking painkillers and anti-depressants.

Speaking about his three-week stint at the Meadows treatment centre in Arizona, Robbie said, “It was damn serious. Robbie Williams does not go into rehab just if his life gets a bit out of control. It was damn serious. Death had to knock on my door to help me with my decision.”

The former Take That star — who was smoking 60 cigarettes a day and downing 36 shots of espresso coffee when he went into rehab — admits he constantly lives in fear of a relapse but refuses to let it ruin his life.

He told Germany’s Stern magazine, “I have a self-destructive character but does this hold me back from being happy? No.”

One of his reasons for the troubled singer’s newfound happiness is girlfriend Ayda Field, who has helped the 35-year-old singer turn his life around.